Camelot
January, 509 AD
"Well, we have to stop Arthur! Delay the mission!" Merlin cried when he was informed of the new developments regarding Mithian's case. He rushed towards the door of my room – where he, Gwaine, Gwen and I were gathered prior to the team's departure.
"No!" I ran after him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him back. "That'll only sound the alarm bells in the hag's brain! We need to be careful and not make any obvious moves 'til we're sure, or we could put Mithian or her father in danger!"
"This could all be a trap!" he argued.
My heart started to beat a little faster at the thought of anything happening to Arthur. But I restrained my features from letting that show. "I know that, but we still gotta help the Princess!"
"She could be in on it!"
I scoffed. "Please, you saw the fear on her face! Obviously she's not doing this willingly."
"She could be acting! You should know that! You have spent half your life stuck to a screen watching movies!" he countered.
That caused me to freeze and I blinked rapidly as I let the words set in.
"Okay, fair point... But we can't confront her right now, we can't tell Art anything without solid proof, and we can't abort the mission," I noted. "So I'm choosing to operate on the assumption that Mithian's not a willing participant and pray for the best."
"Fine," Merlin huffed. "But if something goes wrong–"
"You can engrave an 'I told you so' on my tombstone," I cut him off with a sarcastic grin. "Now let's go before someone starts wondering why we're havin' a secret meeting."
I grabbed my duffel bag off my bed and only then remembered that Gwaine and Gwen were also in the room – both looking puzzled and the former slightly entertained. I sent them a pressed smile before leaving so that I could get started on saddling Dallas.
Gwaine and I exchanged a nod from across the courtyard just as the party was preparing to mount the horses. He shuffled closer to Hilda, and I moved closer to Mithian, then we waited for the suspected evil person to redirect her attention from the Princess to Hershey – the horse she'll be riding. When she did so, the knight went to 'gallantly' assist her with getting on, hoping to distract her long enough so that I could get a few words in with Mithian.
"This handsome guy's Shakespeare," I commented, putting on an amicable grin as I stepped towards the Princess and the black horse, the latter of whom was quick to drop his head to my hands as I reached to pet him.
"He is, indeed, very handsome," Mithian responded in a weak tone and gave a strained grin.
"He'll take good care of ya'," I added and stole a glance towards Hilda, finding that she was still being very much busied by Gwaine's intentionally clumsy efforts to get her onto the dark bay horse.
Mithian lifted herself onto the saddle and I saw her eye her 'maid' in a wary manner.
"You okay?" I asked in a whisper while raising my eyebrows suggestively and making a discreet motion towards the elderly woman with my head.
The Princess simply gulped and nodded. And I wasn't allowed to say anything else because Gwaine couldn't put off Hilda any longer and her predatory eyes were back on Mithian. I clenched my jaw and gave the Princess a forced smile before walking over to Dallas, who stood next to Fallyn.
"Anything?" Gwaine asked in a whisper while we mounted our respective horses.
"No. We need a longer distraction," I responded in the same manner and started to nibble on my bottom lip while looking over at where my King sat atop his horse. If that old hag touches him…
"We will figure out something, Trae. Nothing bad is going to happen to Arthur," Gwaine assured.
I tilted my head. "How d'ya know I'm thinking about–"
"Kid, I have been in your mind," he cut me off with a scoff. "And you keep glancing at him."
"Well, he's total eye-candy."
And neither of us said anything else because Arthur announced that it was time to leave. I gave my best friend an innocent grin when I noticed his amused expression, and then I walked Dallas over to Arthur and Tequila, wishing to ride beside them.
Some two hours later, it was decided that we should take a break near a creek so that the horses could rest and drink; and so that the Princess could catch her breath, seeing as she was still weak from whatever misfortune really befell her.
I kept an eye trained on Mithian while I untacked Dallas, waiting for a good moment to approach her. Merlin moved to help her to get off Shakespeare, and I saw them exchange a few words, but Hilda quickly cut in and led the helpless-looking Princess away from my brother.
"You will not believe this!" I started at Arthur's sudden appearance next to me, but quickly masked it with a small grin. "Merlin is having funny feelings again and he tried to get me to delay this mission!"
I quirked an eyebrow and asked, "He tried to stop you?"
We agreed that we wouldn't!
Arthur scoffed in disbelief. "Yeah."
I let out a puff and sighed before returning my attention to my horse and finally removing my saddle, allowing him some moments of total freedom in the forest. Unsurprisingly, though, he chose to remain near me while dropping his head to graze. I let my eyes travel to Mithian again, finding that she was still being babysat by Hilda.
My King placed his hands on my shoulders, forcing my focus back onto him. It's not that I don't like looking at his angelic face, but I kinda have more pressing matters at hand! Still, I gave him a smile.
"Is anything the matter?" he asked. "You seem distracted."
"I just feel awful for Mithian," I replied.
He gave me a small smile and lowered his arms to my waist, pulling me into a hug. "I know, but I am sure that she will be all right. We just need to get to her father."
I settled for simply nodding in response, knowing that Merlin's little betrayal probably blew any chances we might've had of getting Arthur to consider our theory. He'll just dismiss me if I try to echo my brother's concerns, now; so why even try? We need solid proof, first.
"Astra!" As if on cue, Merlin called me over to where he, Gaius and Gwaine were standing.
I gave Arthur an apologetic look and reached up to give him a quick kiss before jogging over to my two best friends and grandpa figure, with Dallas following.
"'Sup?" I asked.
"Team meeting," Gwaine responded in a whisper, and I nodded in understanding as we all started following my brother, who was carrying a bunch of leather canteens, over to the creek.
Merlin instructed us to help him fill the sacks, as an excuse for why we were huddled together in case Hilda suspected anything, and then he took a cautious glance around before finally speaking in a low voice, "Mithian has some burn marks on her wrist."
My stomach churned and I got a sudden need to rip off the elderly woman's head.
"Hilda said that they were caused by ropes from being bound by Odin's men, but..." my brother trailed off while giving us a knowing look.
"She told us she escaped," I recalled.
"She never said anything about being captured," Gwaine added.
Gaius glanced among us with a sceptical look and said, "She was in shock."
I shared an annoyed look with Merlin, who then turned to the physician while pointing out, "So? That's quite an important detail to leave out of your story."
"Why would she lie?" Gaius questioned.
"C'mon, Pops. You know this one," I responded with a wink. "Everybody lies," I quoted Doctor House.
"Because the truth is likely an inconvenient one," Gwaine threw in wisely.
"We're tellin' ya'. Something's off with Hilda," I sharply told Gaius.
His sceptical look finally eased a little bit, as if he were finally starting to believe us, and he was about to say something else when the rustling of bushes made the four of us pause and turn towards the sound; just in time to spot Arthur coming towards us. "We have to reach the border by nightfall. Move out," he instructed before returning the way he came from.
Merlin sighed in frustration and I placed a hand on his arm. "We'll figure it out," I assured him. "Or we can just drown the hag n' call it a day."
"Astraea!" Gaius scolded.
"I'm joking!" I defended while raising my arms in mock surrender. "Maybe," I added under my breath before sharing another look with my brother.
Darkness began to descend upon the British wilderness just in time for Arthur to get us to some old ruins of what appears to have been a temple at some point in time; which would provide a decent shelter from the winter cold that is sure to start gnawing at us. The horses were made comfortable for the night and then us humans gathered inside what remained of the building. Merlin, Gaius and I teamed up to cook.
A queen that cooks for her knights... That's gotta go down in the history books, aye? Well, I don't think it did...
After finishing my dinner (and going over to the creek to brush my teeth 'cause I'm not an animal), I curled up against Arthur, who was still working on a second serving of stew. His warm body beside me, coupled with a thick jacket and three blankets, was enough to ward off the winter winds. In fact, I was so cosy that I might've allowed myself to drift off... if it weren't for my stubbornness in keeping an eye on Mithian and Hilda, who sat separated from the group towards a corner of the rocky structure. Instead, I was stuck racking my brain for a way in which we could get them to split up, if only for a minute. But I couldn't think of anything that wouldn't appear suspicious.
My heart jumped in alarm when the Princess flinched and cowered away from the old woman and I gulped, then I looked around in hopes that someone else might've noticed. If I can get anyone else on our side, perhaps it'd be easier to persuade Arthur to take measures against Hilda. But the knights were caught up in a game of 'Uno' and my King appeared to be enjoying his food way too much to pay attention to anything else.
I sighed and let my gaze travel towards my brother, who sat to Arthur's other side, and he gave me a tight-lipped smile when our eyes connected. I returned the gesture. At least I'm not alone.
I started when I heard a pained grunt behind me and I turned to find Hilda leaning against the wall, her figure hunched over as usual while she paused all movement and took a deep breath. I shared a quick glance with Merlin before he called out to Gaius, and the two of them hurried to steady the woman.
This is the perfect chance for me to talk to Mithian!
That idea dived out the window when I saw that she had moved closer to us and was now looking at Hilda with a mix of fear and concern in her gaze. I clenched my jaw and stood up, moving closer to my brother.
"I am fine," the hag claimed in a strained voice when she noticed all the people that were gathering around her, her eyes avoiding anything that wasn't the ground.
"Of course," Gaius said gently. "Let us be sure all the same."
"It is really not necessary," she stated.
"Hilda – if you are unwell you must let Gaius help you," Arthur said, suddenly appearing behind me.
"Only if you insist..."
My perceived second chance at maybe being able to talk to Mithian died when she followed Hilda, Gaius, and Merlin towards another section of the ruined building as they moved away for privacy. I huffed and turned my head to give Arthur a momentary smile before looking over at Gwaine and exchanging a nod with him. Then I followed after my brother and company.
As the physician inspected the hag, I was finally able to get a clearer look at her face, and I was instantly struck by her eyes. A cold jade-green that sent shivers down my spine as they reminded me of none other than Morgana. As did the woman's delicate nose and heart-shaped head.
My heart began to slam against my chest. Merlin has used aging spells many times, so it's not far-fetched to think that our arch-nemesis could resort to those tricks as well! I have to be sure that I'm not just seeing things, though. And I should probably discuss any ideas with my brother before making any moves. So I swallowed the fear that comes with the thought that Morgana might be close to killing Arthur – again – and did my best to keep a neutral expression while Gaius continued to examine the woman.
"Well, no obvious problems that I can find," the physician concluded after a few minutes. "You are in excellent health Hilda."
"Thank you Gaius," she responded with a small, evil smirk.
"Better shape than me at any rate," he muttered under his breath, before turning to Merlin and I with a stoic look. "Children – would you help me get my supplies back to my saddle bag?"
My brother and I exchanged a glance and neither of us hesitated before helping the elderly man to gather his stuff. We followed him to where the riding equipment was placed for the night, a decent distance away from the campfire to get us out of earshot.
"Children – it is amazing," Gaius spoke again in a low tone. "Her blood... It flows with the strength and vigour of someone half her age."
A gasp escaped me. That confirms my theory! "I think that might be Madame Mim in disguise," I blurted out.
Merlin turned to me with widened eyes, while Gaius seemed sceptical as he asked, "What makes you say that?"
"You were all up in her space! Didn't you see her eyes?! Her features?!" I questioned in an exasperated whisper.
"Her eyes..." Merlin gulped. "I thought they seemed familiar."
"You never forget the eyes that have almost killed ya' a bunch of times," I said.
"But how–"
I cut off Gaius, "Ageing spell, obviously."
My brother sighed shakily and shook his head. "We never should have come here."
"We still gotta help Mithian," I reminded him. He scoffed.
"She is right, Merlin," the physician supported me. "But if that truly is Morgana, I fear we may be walking into a trap."
"I thought that was obvious by now," I quipped.
Gaius gave me a disapproving look, then he asked, "So what do you propose we do?"
I sighed and glanced towards my brother, seeking his counsel. He was completely unhappy with the situation, obviously. But he still met my gaze and sighed before suggesting, "We need to confront Mithian to find out what is truly happening, and warn Arthur before we get to the border… Without Morgana knowing."
"That'll be easy," I mumbled.
"What if she attacks before that?" Gaius questioned.
"Obviously she's got some sort of deal with Odin, or she would've tried to kill Arthur already," I responded. "Or me."
"No one is going to hurt you or him, Astra," Merlin promised while placing a hand on my shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Of course not. My brother's too smart," I said with a smirk and nudged his side while trying to hide the dread that was consuming me internally. "Anyway, I should probably update Gwaine," I added before kissing Merlin's cheek and giving Gaius a quick hug, then I skipped over to the camp.
Unfortunately for me, almost everyone was already asleep. Including my best friend and my husband (I giggled inwardly at the thought of my husband). So I let out a frustrated sigh and moved to lie down next to Arthur. I doubt I'll sleep a wink all night though. I need to keep an eye on Morgana. Oh, and what if Thanata is hiding in the shadows?! This is a mess!
Arthur made a cute little sleepy noise and wrapped me in his arms, which caused me to relax just a little.
Merlin and I spent the entirety of the next morning attached at the hip and keeping an eye on Morgana while awaiting a good opportunity to get Gwaine away from the party and inform him of the exciting new developments.
We were packing away the kitchen utensils when Mithian surprisingly showed up beside us, the witch not far behind her with her predatory gaze set on her.
"Princess," "'Sup," my brother and I greeted at the same time, both of us trying to appear as neutral as possible.
"Good morning, Astra, Merlin," she responded with what I could tell was a forced smile.
"Can we help you with something?" Merlin inquired.
"I hope so," she responded amicably while glancing over at Morgana's creeping figure near us. Then she revealed a leather canteen and stretched it towards Merlin, "I need this refilling, please."
My brother seemed stunned for a moment, then he reached to grab his own canteen from the duffel bag as he replied, "No need. You can have mine."
Mithian took another glance at Morgana and she seemed slightly agitated, though she kept her tone cool as she responded, "I would prefer my own. If you do not mind."
"Yeah, dude, germs," I nudged his side and gave him a pointed look. Then I turned to the Princess, "He'll do it, don't worry."
"Right," my brother mumbled and gave me an annoyed glance before grabbing Mithian's canteen and walking away towards the creek.
I gave the Princess a smile and was about to try to chat a little, figuring that I might be able to innocently extract some information; but that plan was cut off when I spotted Gwaine nearby, finally on his own. So I rushed over to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to the side without a word.
"You look exhausted, kid," he instantly said when I finally determined that we were safely away from prying ears, his eyes regarding me with concern.
I glared at him. "Yeah, well, I'm about to give you a metaphorical kick in the nuts," I shot back. "Ready?"
He instantly turned scared and I smirked a little before going to speak. I cut myself off when I noticed Morgana sauntering over in the direction Merlin went over a minute ago. My breath hitched and I sprinted off in search of him.
I grunted when I crashed against a wall of flesh and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that it was just Merlin.
"Astra – you were right!" he rapidly said after steadying me while panting. "Mithian left me a message. Carved on a rock. Hilda is Morgana."
"Well, where is she?" I asked while glancing around frantically.
My question was answered by a giant tree branch flying our way and knocking us against a thick tree trunk.
A ringing instantly settled in my ears.
"Found 'er," I groaned. I noticed a certain dampness forming at the back of my head and reached to touch it. Blood.
Sure enough, the evil witch emerged from in between some bushes and I was hardly able to sit up when she raised both of her hands, knocked me back down, and started to magically choke both Merlin and I; her eyes glowing gold.
Black dots began to swarm my vision as I tried gasping for air, but nothing came in. I glanced over at my brother and saw that he was paler than usual. Lava pooled in my stomach as I kept trying to fill my lungs with oxygen.
My head started to scream in agony.
Darkness won out.
King Arthur Pendragon returned from a quick chat with Sir Leon and Sir Carwyn – who'd gone out earlier to scout the border – to find his wife and servant missing from the camp. Normally, he wouldn't have paid much mind. As much as it upsets him when Astra disappears for hours with her surrogate brother for no apparent reason, he is used to it. However, on this occasion, he was in a bit of a rush to get back on the road and find King Rodor before it's too late. So he spotted Gwaine across the collapsed room of the ruined building and jogged up to him.
"Sire," the knight bowed respectfully. Arthur noticed that he looked slightly troubled, his eyes darting in different directions from moment to moment; as if he were looking for something.
"Have you seen Astra?" the King questioned.
"I was with her just a moment ago," Gwaine responded, "but she ran off."
Instantly fearing the worst, Arthur hurried to scan the area, and he relaxed a little bit when his eyes landed on Dallas, his tall and athletic cream-coloured figure being hard to miss among the herd of grazing horses.
"Well, where did she go?" he asked the knight.
"I believe she was heading towards the creek."
Arthur thanked him and raced off to find his Queen, calling her name as he trudged through the brown forest, his senses alert as he surveyed the area.
"Here!" he finally heard a response, though it didn't come from Astra, but from a frail female voice. Hilda, he recognised. "They are here!"
He followed the voice and skidded to a stop. Dread filled him entirely at the sight that greeted him – on the ground, partly propped up against a tree, lay Astraea and Merlin side-by-side and pinned under a large tree branch, both of them unconscious. There was blood trailing from a cut on the latter's forehead.
"That tree branch must have fallen on them," the elderly woman stated.
With his heart caught in his throat, Arthur yelled out for help and he rushed towards the pair, removed the branch, and kneeled down beside his girl, placing a hand on her cheek. Her skin was even colder than usual, and her lips had a tint of purple to them. However, she was very clearly breathing, even if it was somewhat strained.
Arthur called for help again and then he began analysing his Queen for any injuries, soon finding a small gash in the back of her head. Tears pooled in his eyes and he quickly cradled her to his chest as he picked her up.
Percival appeared beside him and he hastened to throw Merlin over his shoulder, then the pair hurried to get the brother-sister duo to Gaius.
The physician didn't have to ask to know what happened. Obviously, Hilda – or rather, Morgana – got to them. He feared that revealing her true identity so openly might incite a violent reaction, though, so he didn't comment on it and instead instructed Gwaine and Elyan to roll out two sleeping bags; then he told Arthur and Percival to lay down the unconscious pair.
Arthur sat on the ground beside Astraea and he moved her head to rest it sideways on his lap while keeping one of her hands in his, his teary eyes not leaving her blanched face for even a moment while Gaius inspected her vital signs and the gash at the back of her head.
After a few minutes, the physician sighed and straightened up.
"Gaius?" the King pressed for answers.
"They have both taken a heavy blow to their head," Gaius informed what was rather obvious to the crowd that had gathered.
"But they will be all right?" Arthur asked, his heart threatening to break out of his chest as his grip on Astra's hand tightened unintentionally.
"They should be fine, Sire, but there is no telling when they will regain consciousness," Gaius answered remorsefully.
Arthur felt like his soul was being ripped in half as he continued to stare at Astra, almost as if trying to mentally will her to wake up and magically recover. He despised the thought of continuing without her and, even more, the thought of breaking his promise to her. He removed a stray strand of dark brown hair from her face and then leaned down to press his forehead against hers while drawing a deep inhale, revelling in the scent of the vanilla and coconut shampoo that she uses.
Every fibre of his being ached. But he knew that he couldn't abandon the mission. According to Gaius, Astraea isn't in any grave danger; while King Rodor's minutes could be counted. What's more, he knew that Astra wouldn't want him to give up the mission on her account.
So, with a twisting heart, Arthur pressed a soft kiss to his Queen's cold lips and whispered, "I love you." Then he gently moved her head onto her Spider-Man pillow (which Gwaine had retrieved from her duffel bag) before standing up, sighing heavily, and turning to address his knights, "We cannot wait for them. Not if we are to stand a chance at reaching Rodor before Odin's men." He swallowed some tears before facing whom he knew would protect his girl almost as fiercely as himself, "Gwaine – stay here with Astraea, Merlin and Gaius." The aforementioned knight agreed to take on this task without hesitation. "The rest of us make for Nemeth."
Gaius waited for the party to leave, knowing that he needed to do his thing in secret, and when everyone was gone, he pulled out a different bag of supplies – magic supplies – and he set it down on the ground between Merlin and Astra.
Gwaine watched with curious eyes as the elderly man pulled out some dried herbs.
"Not a word," Gaius warned.
The knight scoffed in disbelief. "You do not have to worry about me. Do whatever you need to do."
Gaius nodded, appreciative of the admirable loyalty that Gwaine shows his two wards, and then he began to chant a spell that caused the herbs to start expelling some smoke. His eyes glowed gold, confirming the knight's suspicions that the physician also has magic, and then the elderly man let the herbs hover over Merlin's body, moving them up and down along it. He soon repeated the same spell with Astraea.
"That is all I have, children," Gaius said while letting out a strained sigh. "Let it be enough."
Gwaine placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring look, then his eyes travelled to jump between his two best friends, his chest filling with hope when he noticed that they'd both regained some colour.